Barrus Qualifies for Nationals

TIFFIN, Ohio – Bethany College Women's Wrestling pushed through their first national qualifier in program history. Trinity Barrus will represent the Bison in the National Collegiate Women's Wrestling Championships.

The NCWWC Region IV Qualifier was held Saturday at Tiffin University. The NCWWC is an organization that allows women's wrestling programs to compete in a national tournament in place of the typical NCAA Championships that will happen in a few years. This tournament includes all NCAA divisions (DI,DII, and DIII) that hit the qualifying number of competitions throughout the regular season. Once you qualify for regionals, you must place in the top four to move on to nationals.

Barrus did just that. It was not an easy task as the 160 lb weight class was the toughest in the entire tournament with multiple nationally ranked wrestlers. Despite losing in the quarters, the freshman won four straight matches in the backside of the bracket to earn a third place finish. 

Barrus had a tough match to start, but grinded out a controlled 8-0 win to move to the quarters. Barrus got to work following her first loss, picking up her first fall in 38 seconds. The Bison's next match ended in a similar fashion after dumping her opponent to her back inside of a minute. 

Barrus then had a nationally ranked foe. Her Tiffin opponent was ranked #18 in the country. The stylistic matchup was perfect for Barrus, and she made that known when she put the Green Dragon straight to her back. The Bison picked up a fall in under 90 seconds to move onto the blood round.

Barrus needed to win to become a national qualifier. She did not earn a repechage into fourth from her previous opponents.The freshman was paired against a neighboring opponent in West Liberty. The battle of West Virginia wrestlers determined the final spot to go to nationals. 

Barrus went for broke off a shot counter in the early stages of the match, but it didn't work out. Another Hilltopper takedown brought the Bison within danger, being down eight points. One more takedown would end the match via technical fall, but Barrus survived through the first period. 

The Bethanian had some work to do in the second period. She scored early, giving her some breathing room. However, the clock was still winding down.

Still needing multiple takedowns to take the lead, Barrus continued to stalk her opponent. When the Hilltopper got out of position, the Bison charged forward to capitalize. In a blink of an eye, Barrus took her opponent straight from feet to back and did what she has done best all season- Pin.

Barrus went from one point away from losing to sticking her opponent flat to move on to the National tournament.

Head Coach Pete DiPol was estatic to have his first ever national qualifier. He had this to say about the freshman:

In regard to Trinity, the tournament she put together is a testament to her character and work ethic. She never quits and it showed in that blood round match. The thing about Trinity is there is no secret to her success. She does the things we preach as coaches and what any coach wants to see in their athletes. She never misses practices, always on time, seeks out extra workouts and video review. When injured she still does something productive to get better. Trinity eats right and gets proper rest. Excels in school with a 4.0 GPA. She covers every facet of her lifestyle in a positive way which has carried over in her wrestling. I'm very proud and happy for her. Hard work paid off and she has laid a solid foundation for our program.

Barrus will wrestle day 1 of the NCWWC tournament Friday, March 7th. The tournament is held in Coralville, Iowa. Top eight athletes will be All-Americans. Stream link and brackets will be released closer to the event.

This article was written by Assistant Director of Athletic Communications Colin Herb. If you believe that there are mistakes in information-- or have a separate thought relating to the event in the article-- please email cherb@bethanywv.edu for any corrections/comments.